G.W.Khamkar Spices has been the first choice of all traditional Maharashtrian foodies not just in Lalbaug but all over the world for decades. The G.W.Khamkar family is natives of Aargaon, Taluka Lanja of the Ratnagiri district, from where the family’s ancestors drove their cars to Mumbai. Tanu Bhikaji Khamkar an ancestral member of the Khamkar family came to Mumbai in 1918. He then started selling chillies, pickles and numerous sorts of spices in the Tardeo region of Mumbai. He single-handedly expanded his business of selling spices by first taking a house and then a shop in the same Tardeo region. Mr Taanu Khamkar, the eldest in the family, also invited his four younger siblings to Mumbai to take care of their growing business. These siblings included Bhau, Raghunath, Pundalik and the youngest of all Vaman Bhikaji Khamkar. Over the next five to six decades, the business of the Khamkar family also expanded to the prominent areas of Mumbai, such as Tardeo, Prabhadevi, Bhoiwada and Lalbaug, as five brothers came together.
Soon among the five siblings, Vaman Khamkar’s younger son, Gopichand, began working with his father. Khamkar family began selling oil, pickles and firecrackers for various seasons and occasions. However, Gopichand, who assisted his father in this business, was especially interested in cooking food. Taking note of Gopichand’s interest, his father Vaman Khamkar entrusted the entire business to him. Gopichand, who was working at the time, also quit his job and took over the entire business. Instead of doing seasonal business, he began providing all the spices needed to cook delicious recipes in the Lalbaug, Parel, Byculla and Mazgaon regions. Gopichand came up with a revolutionary idea to create their own traditional home-made ready-made spices that would make a delightful meal in less time. With this idea in mind, G.W.Khamkar Spices Company was inaugurated in 1994.
While making spices, he was constantly thinking about how his spices would bring a spicy and flavorful taste to the cuisine of people from different provinces and villages of Maharashtra. With that in mind, he carried out numerous experiments in the production of spices to achieve his belief. A tradition of GW Khamkar spices was formed because of his keen intellect. While his business was gaining ground with the aid of his wife Radha and children Sanket and Sanjog, Gopichand Khamkar passed away suddenly in 2004. Due to this sudden demise from time, the primary pillar and brains of the growing business of Khamkar were lost. After the demise of Mr.Gopichand Khamkar, the responsibility of the G.W.Khamkar Spices Company fell on Sanket and Sanjog. At the age of just 20, Sanket Khamkar came forward as a concerned elder brother and decided to handle the business as Sanjog Khamkar was still studying. Sanket Khamkar used a combination of intense hard work and better planning in the production of traditional spices. And that’s how he reduced the time needed for the production of spices from six to seven days to only one good hard working day. Especially focusing on the distribution and sale along with the production of spices the brothers’ duo, also introduced the option of home delivery to the customers. That is why this company, which was once running with just two workers a few years ago, now employs over 40 people directly and indirectly. Of course, in the last 15 years, Sanket and Sanjog Khamkar have increased the turnover of their business by 150 times.
Over the years, the relationship between customers and G.W.Khamkar Spices has become stronger and far more inseparable. Sanket and Sanjog Khamkar have undoubtedly worked hard to accomplish their father’s dream of making G.W.Khamkar Spices the best place to buy the finest homemade and traditional spices in Lalbaug. Gopichand Khamkar had already laid the groundwork for never compromising on quality. Accordingly, the company has maintained its consistency by grinding spices and using the traditional technique of cold pressing of all-natural spices, such as coriander, turmeric and chilli, which are used in our daily meals. For this reason, GW Khamkar spices are in demand not only in Mumbai but throughout the country. In the next few years, the company aims to take this taste of traditional spices which will promote India across the globe. Apart from that, GW Khamkar has been dreaming of introducing the franchise model to provide jobs for the country’s youth. Over the last 86 years, the three generations of the Khamkar family have been serving customers sincerely and uninterruptedly. The Khamkar family is confident that the third generation of customers will continue to be part of the company’s tradition and leading the company to its centenary.